Watch-dial fastener.



E. NELSON.

WATCH DIAL FASTENEB. APPLICATION FILED on. 2, 1912.

1,091,009. Patented Mar.24, 191

F/Qg. 6.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON, H c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL NELSON, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

WATCH-DIAL FASTENER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EMrL NELSON, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah, and State of Oregon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in IVatch-Dial Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to watch dial fasteners, and has for its object to provide an improved mechanism whereby the dial of a watch can be quickly and securely attached to the movement thereof, or removed therefrom without the use of dial-foot screws, and by means of which I greatly facilitate the attachment or detachment of a watch dial, and make it possible to remove the dial, or to replace it, without removing the watch movement from the case, thereby making it easy and convenient to examine the works, as for broken jewels or other needed repairs without the trouble of loosening and removing the movement from the case, and without the bother of removing several dial-foot screws, which is necessary under the present construction used in building watches. By means of my invention, all points of attachment of the dial are released, or tightened, in unison or simultaneously by the simple movement of the operating element, thus greatly reducing the time necessary to detach or attach a dial. This is due to the fact that under the present construction, the several screws which hold the movement in the case must be individually removed. After this is done and the movement lifted from the case, each dial-foot screw must be removed.

In order that others may fully under stand my invention, I have shown in the accompanying sheet of drawings two slightly different embodiments thereof for purposes of illustration, which I will now describe.

Figure 1 is a view showing the back side of a pillar-plate of a watch movement with dial removed; Fig. 2 is a view showing the back side of a dial with three dial-feet; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 44: of Fig. 1, with dial in place; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 6 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 1, showing a slightly modified form of the invention.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 2, 1912.

Patented Mar. 24, 1914.

Serial No. 723,621.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, 7 designates a plate or part of a watch movement usually designated as the pillar-plate, and is provided with holes 88, adapted to receive the dialfeet 9 9, upon the back side of a dial 10, shown in Fig. 2. The dial-feet are provided with holding sockets, as 11, in their inner sides. The pillar-plate 7 is provided with a circumferentially extending groove 12, preferably undercut in its sides, as indicated, within which slidably fits a ring like element or segment 18, which extends about two -thirds of the distance around said groove 12. At one point of said ring l1ke element 18 it is provided with a few teeth, as at 14, with which mesh the teeth of a small pinion 15, mounted between the pillar-plate 7 and a plate 16, the pinion stem being provided in its end with a slot 17 Fig, 5 by means of which it can be rotated or turned with a screw-driver in either dlrection for the purpose of moving the ring l ke member 13 circumferentially. Said ring, it will be noted, is provided with suitable indents, as 1818, adapted to be moved 1nto register with the dial-foot holes 8 in the pillar-plate so as to permit the placing of the dial feet in said holes. When a dial has been thus put into place upon the movement, with its feet 9 in the holes 8, as indicated in Fig. l, said ring element 13 is circumferentially shifted by turning the plnion 15, until portions of said ring like element engage or occupy the indents or sockets 11 in the feet portions of the dial 10, thereby preventing the latter from being lifted from its place. Thus by a simple turn of the pinion 15, which has an interfittlng operative connection with the ring like element, all of the dial-feet are released so that the dial can be lifted from its restmg place, or they are simultaneously engaged so as to be secured against rem-oval.

In Fig. 6, instead of making the sides of the circumferentially extending groove in the pillar-plate 7 undercut, it is made of square form in cross section and the ring like element 13 is of corresponding construction and is held in place therein by means of screws 17*, the heads of which overlie said ring element, in the manner indicated. In this figure the ring 13 is shown in the holding position in full lines, while in Fig, 1, the ring 13 is shown in full lines in position to permit of the dial-feet being placed in the dial-foot holes, and in holding position in dotted lines.

I am aware that changes can be made in the embodiments of the invention here shown and described for purposes of illustration, and I do not, therefore, limit the invention to the particular forms here shown, except as I may be limited by the hereto appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a watch movement, a pillar plate provided in its front face with a circumferentially extending groove, and with a recess in its rear face at one side of and adjoining said groove, a ring like locking member mounted within the said groove for sliding movement and having a toothed portion at one side edge thereof, a dial plate resting directly upon the front face of the pillar plate, means on the dial plate to be engaged by the locking ring to hold the dial in place, and actuating means for the locking ring including a pinion mounted in the said recess and engaging the toothed portion of the ring, said pinion having an operating stem projecting rearwardly of the pillar plate. 7

2. In a watch movement, a pillar plate, a dial plate, locking means housed between the faces of the pillar plate and engaging the dial plate, and means for actuating said locking means to engage and disengage the dlal plate.

3. In a watch movement a pillar plate, a ring like looking member housed between the faces of the pillar plate, a dial plate engaged by the locking member, and means operating between the faces of the pillar plate for engaging the locking member to bring the same into and out of engagement with the dial plate.

Signed at Portland, Oregon, this 26th day of September, 1912.

7M. F. BREIDENSTEIN, R. B. FRENCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

